Nowait: Never Wait Around for a Restaurant Table Again

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Tech is at its best when it solves an annoying problem. Waiting for a table at a popular restaurant isn’t the worst problem in the world…unless you have a fussy toddler, have other things to do, or are very hungry. Or your Significant Other refuses to go to your favorite restaurant because of the long wait for a table.

Then waiting for a restaurant table can seem like a very annoying problem.

Nowait is an app designed to solve that problem by eliminating the wait at restaurants. No more putting your name on a list and waiting to hear it be called in 20 40, 60, 90 minutes or longer.

No more getting a restaurant pager, waiting for it to buzz, light up and shake. No more wondering how far you can wander with that pager before it goes out of range.

What Nowait Does

Nowait lets you see how long the wait is for a table at a restaurant and lets you put your name on a waiting list. You get a text message from Nowait when your table is ready.

You can also see which restaurants in your area don’t have a wait and can seat you right away.

If you can’t get to the restaurant in time, or you want to cancel, you can text back and ask to delay or cancel your place on the list.

The app includes restaurants that either don’t take reservations or hold tables open for people who don’t have a reservation.

Nowait currently covers about 4000 restaurants in the US, both chain and independent restaurants are members. Chain restaurants include Buffalo Wild Wings, Texas Roadhouse, On the Border, Red Robin, Uno Chicago Grill, Chili’s, Champps, and more. Note that not all locations of these chains are covered by the Nowait app.

The company clearly values your time. On its website, the app displays the number of minutes people have saved by using Nuwait.

Who doesn’t like to save time?

How to Use Nowait

To use Nowait, download the free app:

• Nowait for Android
• Nowait for iPhone

You need to register for an account by sharing your cell phone number and other information about yourself. You also need to grant the app permission to track your location while using the app and send you notifications.

The app will send you a confirmation code to be sure you entered your cell phone number correctly.

You can see a list of participating restaurants near you with the distance from you given. The list includes the estimated wait time or the invitation “Come on in” to let you know there is no wait.

Tap the heart ♥ to add a restaurant as your favorite.

You can also see participating restaurants on a map.

The map view shows all restaurants that use Nowait in the area. The list view sometimes shows only Nowait restaurants that are open at the time you’re searching. In other words, if a restaurant has closed for the day, it will may not show on the list view but should show on the map view.

The Filter option shows your favorite restaurants and restaurants newly added to Nowait. It would be helpful to have a filter for wait times so you could easily find restaurants with no, or short, wait times. Perhaps a future update to Nowait could include this feature.

When you find a restaurant you like, you can add your name to the wait list. Choose how many people are in your party and let the restaurant know whether you’re celebrating a special occasion, need a high chair, etc.

You’ll get a notice from Nowait when your table is ready. You can rate your experience on the app when you’re done.

The Idea Behind Nowait

This idea for Nowait came to founder Robb Myer after he waited 45 minutes for a table at a popular restaurant for brunch one morning. He realized that if restaurants could seat people more efficiently, everyone would benefit.

He developed Nowait in Pittsburgh with the belief that restaurants could operate more efficiently and patrons would be happier if people didn’t have to wait in the lobby to be seated. People who avoided going to the restaurants because they don’t like waiting for tables might be lured back to eating out.

Yelp, an app that helping users find restaurants in their area, invested in Nowait in August 2016. Earlier this week Yelp purchased Nowait.

Everyone here at Nowait HQ are thrilled to be joining the @Yelp team! https://t.co/9NFCdR9Xlz

— Nowait (@nowaitapp) March 1, 2017

Nowait Plus Yelp

You can also find Nowait features within the Yelp app. When you search for restaurants on Yelp, you may see some where you can add your name to a waitlist to get a table.

No need to close the Yelp app and open Nowait. You can add your name to the restaurant’s waiting list within the Yelp app.

As of this writing, Yelp does not let you search for restaurants that are members of Nowait. If you’re looking specifically for Nowait restaurants, the Nowait app is your best bet.

What Else You Need to Know

Nowait is a cutting-edge app, meaning you should not expect perfection. As Yelp takes ownership, expect that more restaurants will participate with Nowait and the app will continue to improve with updates.

Nowait’s Privacy Policy states that “We DO NOT sell your PII to third parties or mass marketers,” which is important to know when you share your information with them.

Your Thoughts

Have you ever been frustrated when waiting for a table at a restaurant? Do you get annoyed waiting to be called for your table? What restaurant do you wish you could use with Nowait?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!

* Waiting image (edited) courtesy of Peter Clark via Flickr and Creative Commons

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